


Unmanned

by bwblack



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 04:10:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15162335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bwblack/pseuds/bwblack
Summary: After being kidnapped John fears he's woken up underwater and surrounded by bees.   The reality isn't much better.





	Unmanned

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Watson's Woes JWP #3: We Three Shall Meet and HC Bingo prompt: trapped together.

The kidnapping itself was so efficient John assumed that Mycroft had orchestrated it. That was, in fact, his final conscious thought before he blacked out. 

"Bloody Hell, Mycroft," John heard a familiar voice, but a bit muffled, distorted and far away. 

John tried to open his eyes. Nothing happened. _Not good_. 

"How many times do I have to tell you?" The voice persisted over a persistent, pervasive noise. _A hum?_

John tried to raise his hands to his face. He arms didn't move. _Very not good._

"I did not do this." Mycroft's voice cut through the noise. _A buzz_

 _Were they underwater and surrounded by bees?_ John snorted at the ridiculous idea. 

"Is he waking up?" The first voice again… _Lestrade?_

"John. Can you hear me? John?" Mycroft now. Still very distorted, though. 

John tried to speak. It came out a groan. _very, very not good._

"Good, very good. It is okay. You are okay." Mycroft responded. 

John involuntarily laughed. The only thing he knew in the world in this moment was that he was very much not okay. 

"Okay in the sense that you're not dead… yet." Lestrade's sentiment was disturbing but John siged in relief. Lestrade's voice sounded clear. _my ears popped_

"Are we… flying?" John asked finally putting that piece together… "and… um… am I blind? Paralyzed?" 

"In a sense. Probably not. No." 

"A little elaboration, Mycroft?" 

"We are flying, in the sense that we are being propelled through the air in some sort of craft. Your eyes are swollen shut, I have no reason to assume that you are blind but until your eyes open enough to let light through, that is an only an educated guess, a very highly educated guess, though. We were all given a paralytic. Unfortunately you seem to have been allergic to yours, hence your eyes and your slow return to function. You have moved. I have observed it." 

"Why?" 

"Why did I observe your movements? They happened in my line of sight. I could hardly avoid observing them. There are very, very few things I fail to observe." 

"You failed to observe that you were about to be kidnapped, drugged, and put on an areoplane to God knows where." Lestrade grumbled.

"The kidnapping is, I regret, one of the very, very few things I failed to observe. I was… distracted. I was trying to send a text.... I have observed, however, that this is not an aeroplane in the traditional sense.. "

"Not in the traditional sense?" John wondered if his headache was caused by the kidnapping or prolonged exposure to Mycroft Holmes. _Both?_.

"It is a UAV. An Unmanned aerial vehicle." 

"You, me, John. Three manned aerial vehicle, actually." 

"Yes… That is odd. I can think of many, many reasons why I might be kidnapped. I'm less certain why anybody would kidnap the two of you. "

"You kidnapped me two weeks ago." John protested.

"And me 3 times last week." Lestrade sighed. 

"Yes... They have had me under surveillance for quite some time." 

"Another one of the very, very few things you failed to observe?" John asked accusingly. 

"I suspected I was under surveillance. I did not think they would act on their information, not at this juncture. The fact that they have is less than encouraging. "

"So no chance this little UAV friend of yours has kidnapped us to discuss Sherlock's drugs habit or to take us to Venice for dinner?" Lestrade asked doubtfully. 

"You did say the scampi was to die for." Mycroft quipped.

"Not literally." Lestrade called out as if there was a pilot to hear him.

"Right, so, this UAV.. this Drone…" John started…."What is its objective?" 

"It is a drone, John. A passenger drone. An advanced one. But it is a machine. It isn't sentient. It has no objective. It just runs code." 

"Nobody let it watch Terminator… or 2001…" 

"And the people who coded it?" John asks. 

"They have an objective." 

"And that objective is?" 

"Killing me." 

"And us along with it? As collateral damage?" 

"A small price to pay to protect their investment. They are worried I've procured their technology. I have. They're worried what I might do with this technology. They should be." 

"Should we be?" John asked. 

"You? No." 

"Humanity?" 

"A conversation for another time."

"So, now that they have you way up in the air, why not slam you really fast into the side of a mountain?" 

"The technology we are in is incredibly expensive. That would be a waste. Plus I am sure they want to ascertain that I haven't already sold the specs for this machine. I suspect they will use you as leverage to get that information from me. " 

"Why us and not Sherlock?" John asked. 

"He is much harder to kidnap." Mycroft sighed. "For both me and them I suppose."

"And when you procured this technology… did you learn everything about it? Did you learn how to stop it? The drone itself. Before it gets us to the people who are trying to kill you? And torture us? Or kill us and torture you? Or kill and torture all of us.... Really, none of those options are ideal for any of us." 

"When the the aircraft is damaged it lands itself to prevent crashes." Mycroft explained. "If we could cause enough damage to make it land but not so much damage that it fell to the earth killing us all…. Well… it could work. But the machine would send its location out they would know where to find us… and… our escape would be hindered by a blind man who can barely move. And if we wait much longer, we'll be at our destination. We won't have a chance. We're crossing into Afghanistan already." 

"Details..." Lestrade shrugged. 

"Collateral damage." John shrugged. "Let me go and you save yourself. I'm a soldier. I understand collateral damage. Bring the drone down."

"You don't need to do this, John." Lestrade argued. 

"I do." 

Mycroft smiled, "You are a good man John. But Gregory is right. You do not need to sacrifice yourself." 

" _He_ can not lose all three of us. He'd never survive it. I will not sacrifice myself for you Mycroft. But for him? I will do that. I have to do that. He'd do it for me. He'd do it for any of us." 

"Maybe not for me." Mycroft smiled sadly "but you don't have to sacrifice yourself, John. Don't you see?" 

"I don't see anything." John lifted his index finger and pointed to his ruined eyes. 

"I see.." Lestrade grinned. 

"See what?" John sighed. 

"You shrugged." Mycroft explained as he banged something into the side of the craft. 

"So?" John asked. 

"Mycroft is trying to _point_ out that you moved. You can move. You can escape. We can escape." 

"I can barely move, I'm a liability."

"You are, John Watson, an asset. We are in Afghanistan. You have been here before. You know the way home." Mycroft explained as the drone began a controlled descent.


End file.
